Beata Ślaska-Grzywna

Food allergies in rural areas

Introduction A food allergy is a group of symptoms occurring in the organism and resulting from consuming some food, where the problems are conditioned by immunological mechanisms. The symptoms may become apparent first in adulthood and they may be an initial manifestation of a latent allergy. Typical symptoms of a food allergy occur in different organs, thus not only in the digestive system, but also in the skin, respiratory system and circulatory system. Aim To assess the frequency of food allergy onset in rural areas of the Lublin region as well as to determine which factors induce such allergies. Material and methods A survey was conducted, involving the participation of 340 inhabitants of rural areas. The study monitored the knowledge and situation of the disease, concerning allergens, allergy symptoms, methods of treatment and opinions regarding such treatment. Results The analysis focused on 124 people with diagnosed allergies. Conclusions Introducing a diet did not result in a statistically significant difference regarding elimination of the symptoms, as compared to the patients who did not follow any diet. On the other hand, pharmacological treatment causes statistically worse results than using other methods or not being treated at all. The patients in whom allergy symptoms disappeared were more convinced about the positive character of their diet than those in whom the symptoms were not eliminated. The age when the allergy becomes evident does not affect its duration, yet it matters as to the time of its later elimination. The more symptoms were experienced by a patient, the longer the duration of the allergy was.

Multivariate analysis of textural properties of butternut squash during thermal treatment

In this paper, changes in the textural properties of butternut squash caused by thermal treatment in a convection steam oven with different levels of temperature, steam, and different process durations were considered. Textural properties of pumpkin pulp were measured in terms of five features (characteristics): hardness, chewiness, gumminess, springiness, and cohesiveness. Pearson’s correlation coefficients for measurements of the characteristics indicated significant linear relationships at a significance level of 0.05. This fact justified the use of multivariate statistical methods to explore the simultaneous impact of temperature, steam, and time on textural attributes of butternut squash. Shapiro–Wilk tests did not disprove the normality of four textural characteristics; namely, hardness, springiness, gumminess and chewiness. Based on the measurements of the four above normally distributed features, three-way multivariate analysis of variance with all double interactions between the factors proved their significant impact on textural properties of butternut squash pulp at a significance level of 0.05. Additionally, applied multivariate techniques such as canonical correlation analysis, principal component analysis, factor analysis, clustering analysis, and discriminant analysis explained relationships between the factors and characteristics under consideration.

Changes in Particle Size Distribution of Bran and Flour Obtained from Vacuum Impregnated and Infra-red Heated Wheat Grain

This study aims to provide comprehensive information on the process of vacuum impregnation of wheat grains. Vacuum impregnation, saturating materials with additional liquid components, is a well-known process originally developed to ensure leak tightness or reduce the porosity of various materials. We describe its potential uses in the food processing industry relating to the impregnation of grains and leguminous plant seeds. The objective of the study was to determine the influence of impregnation and infrared heating of wheat grains on flour efficiency, moisture content and particle size distribution in the resulting flour and bran. The experimental material comprised three varieties of wheat. The results showed that the method of preparing the wheat grains for milling combined with impregnation had a significant impact on the particle size distribution of bran but not on the particle size distribution of flour. A more complete view of the process characteristics requires further investigation of factors related to the structural and textural properties of the impregnated material, factors which are highly varied in the case of food materials and food products.

Physical Properties of Seeds of the Selected Oil Plants

Abstract The paper examines the selected physical properties of seeds of 8 plants used in agri-food processing industry. These are: winter rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) Adriana cultivar, sesame (Sesamumindicum L.), common flax (Linum usitatissimum L.) Luna cultivar, husked sunflower (Helianthus L.) (country of origin – Bulgaria), hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) Benikocultivar, blue poppy (Papaver somniferum L.) Major cultivar, garden cress (Lepidium sativum L.), black caraway (Nigella Sativa L.). In the research material we determined the following: mass of thousand seeds (MTS), piling angle and angle of repose, tap and bulk density and compressive resistance of single seeds. Some seeds from the selected plant species differed with shape and size. Thus, the results determining the physical properties were varied.

Impact of Pretreatment of Wheat Grain Using Infrared Radiation on Flour Falling Number

Abstract The aim of the research was to determine how time of infrared radiation heating of grains influences the falling number of flour gained from wheat variety Waluta and spelled wheat variety Schwabenkorn. Moisture content was determined in the first stage of the study and it was 12% ± 1%. Then grain was moisturized to the moisture of: 14, 16 and 18%. Prepared material was subjected to infrared radiation heating at the temperature of 150°C for 30, 60, 90 and 120 seconds. The heated material was sent to milling, and the falling number was determined. It has been found that the infrared radiation heating of wheat grains prior to milling significantly affects the falling number of flour, which increases with the duration of heating grain.